The Laurier Golden Hawks earned two more coats of gold on Sunday as both the women`s and men`s curling teams were successful in the final of the inaugural 2008 CIS/CCA Curling Championship. The men's team finished the round robin on top of Pool A with a 5-1 record before defeating the University of Guelph Gryphons 8-3 in the quarter finals and dominating the Brock University Badgers 10-2 in the semi-finals. In the final, it took Laurier nine ends to finish off the Dinos from the University of Calgary when they scored five points to put the game out of reach 10-4 (the score has since been reduced to 5-4 with the last two ends crossed out so I am not sure what happened there but Laurier is still the winner).
The women's side had a tougher time getting to the final as they finished the round robin at 3-3 tied with three other schools. With only two available playoff spots, the four teams were on to the tie breaker games. Laurier squeaked by the University of Regina Rams by a 4-3 score in their tie breaker game. They then defeated the Brock Badgers 9-6 in the quarter finals and Laurentian University Lady Vees 9-3 in the semi-finals. The University of Manitoba Bisons put up a good fight in the finals but Laurier were able to steal four points in the last three ends to take the title game 7-4.
Shortly before the curling champions were decided, the 2008 Men's Basketball Championship final began between the seventh seeded Brock Badgers and the fifth seeded Acadia Axemen. This tournament started on Friday with eight teams. The host Carleton University Ravens were the top seed and were favoured to win their sixth straight championship. That dream was shattered late Saturday night by a gutsy, double overtime performance by Acadia in the semi-finals (82-80).
Prior to that semi-final game, Acadia defeated the fourth seeded Universite de Laval Rouge et Or 85-77 in the quarterfinals. The Brock Badgers snuck into the final game by defeating the second seeded University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 83-78 in the quarterfinals and the sixth seeded University of Western Ontario Mustangs 85-75 in the semi-finals. The eighth seeded University of Alberta Golden Bears were defeated in the quarter finals by Carleton while the third seeded University of Saint Mary's Huskies lost their quarter final game to the Mustangs 75-70.
Before the men's final was played, the Rouge et Or defeated the UBC Thunderbirds 86-84 to claim fifth spot. For some reason there is no game played to determine third place. Surprisingly, Acadia did not look to suffer from their tough game against the top seed and dominated the final match early on. Brock did not let up though and they kept the score tight heading into the last six minutes of the game. In an exciting finish, Brock clung to a one point lead before sinking a long two with just 11 seconds left. After an Acadia time out, a Brock defender forced the play out of bounds, leaving two ticks on the clock and a Brock possession. With a 64-61 score, the 2008 Brock University Badgers claimed the school's second men's basketball title. Not bad for a seventh seed.
Congratulations to the Brock Badgers and also congratulations to the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks (x2).
The last stop on the CIS winter sport season is the Universite de Moncton next weekend for the 2008 CIS Men's Ice Hockey Championship. Let's see if the Badgers can surprise all again and keep the championship party going on the St Catharines campus.
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